Rockies at Padres
One day after snapping their longest losing streak in more than four years, the Colorado Rockies look to build on the rare victory when they continue their three-game series against the host San Diego Padres on Saturday. Colorado grabbed an early lead on Friday and ended their nine-game skid with a 3-2 victory behind rookie Tim Melville, who pitched into the sixth inning.
The Rockies had allowed at least five runs in nine straight games before holding San Diego to five hits in Friday’s win. Jairo Diaz recorded his first career save and Trevor Story had a pair of hits at the leadoff spot for Colorado, which is 16-42 since July 1. San Diego lost its fourth straight and fell a season-low 12 games below .500 despite the play of outfielder Nick Martini, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored and is 8-for-23 since joining the Padres on Aug. 30. Manager Andy Green continues to exercise patience with promising rookie infielder Luis Urias, who was 0-for-2 with two walks on Friday and has two hits in his last 27 at-bats.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado), FS San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jeff Hoffman (1-5, 7.35 ERA) vs. Padres LH Joey Lucchesi (9-7, 4.00)
Hoffman lost his fourth straight decision last Sunday after giving up two runs on nine hits over five innings against Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old native New Yorker is 0-2 with 7.36 ERA with 11 walks and 23 strikeouts in four road starts this season covering 18 1/3 innings. Hoffman is 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA in five career games (three starts) versus San Diego – including a 0.84 ERA in three games (two starts) at Petco Park.
Lucchesi recorded another strong outing last Saturday, allowing one run on eight hits over six innings in a no-decision against San Francisco. The 26-year-old has won two of his last three starts and allowed a total of four runs across 17 innings over that stretch. Nolan Arenado is 6-for-15 with a home run against Lucchesi, who is 1-1 with a 2.88 ERA in six career starts versus Colorado – including 0-1 with a 4.38 mark in two outings this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arenado is 19-for-44 with five home runs during a 12-game hitting streak.
2. Padres OF Franchy Cordero is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a quad injury.
3. The Rockies recalled LHP Phillip Diehl from Triple-A Albuquerque.